In 1859, the first intercollegiate baseball game was played in Pittsfield, Mass. Amherst beat Williams, 66-32.

In 1867, Canada was granted its independence by Great Britain. It consisted at the time of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and future provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

In 1874, the Philadelphia Zoological Society, the first U.S. zoo, opened to the public.

In 1893, President Cleveland underwent secret surgery to remove a cancerous growth in his mouth. The operation did not become public knowledge until a newspaper article about it was published on Sept. 22, 1917 -- nine years after Cleveland's death.

In 1898, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders led the charge up Cuba's heavily-fortified San Juan Hill in a key Spanish-American War battle.

In 1916, in the worst single day of casualties in British military history, 20,000 soldiers were killed, 40,000 wounded in a massive offense against German forces in France's Somme River region during World War I.

In 1932, the Democrats nominated Franklin Delano Roosevelt for president. FDR eventually was elected to four consecutive terms.

In 1946, the United States conducted its first post-war test of the atomic bomb, at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

In 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, known as the Soundabout, in U.S. stores. It sold for about $200.

In 1990, the West and East German economies were united as the deutsche mark replaced the ost mark as currency in East Germany.

In 1991, the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist.

In 1992, a gunman opened fire in a Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom, killing two lawyers and wounding three other people. He later surrendered at a TV station.

In 1993, Congress completed action on an economic stimulus bill that fell far short of what President Clinton wanted.

Also in 1993, President Clinton unveiled a plan for logging in federal old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest that would also protect the northern spotted owl.

In 1994, the U.N. Security Council authorized a commission to investigate "acts of genocide" in Rwanda.

In 1996, a dozen members of a paramilitary organization were arrested in Arizona and charged with plotting to bomb government buildings.

In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China after 99 years as a British territory.

A thought for the day: H.L. Mencken wrote that "It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull."

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